§ Keith VazTo ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (1) if he will make a statement on his recent visit to Leicester; [156123]
(2) if he will make a statement on his visit to open the outreach centre provided by Business-to-Business (UK) Ltd. [156126]
§ Mr. BrowneMy right hon. Friend has not visited Leicester recently. However, I was pleased to be able to visit the two Jobcentre Plus Offices in Charles street and Wellington street, Leicester on 4 February 2004, where I met staff, employers and partners who work in or use the offices. Jobcentre Plus in Leicester now offers a truly modern service, offering a range of job and benefit help to its customers—including access to more than 400,000 vacancies Europe-wide.
I also visited Leicester on 25 November 2003 to open the Business-to-Business service, awarded a contract by Jobcentre Plus to deliver Outreach services to the local ethnic minority population. I look forward to seeing the results generated by this innovative provision.